Life out of extreme heat

The example comes from of all places Kuwait which has been experiencing over 50 degrees repeatedly in summer these past years

One solitary woman has taken over a small area, comparable to a traffic roundabout, and by dint of repeated dousing with second class water paid by her saw shrubs and then trees sprout.

This when everybody had long been telling the woman that nothing would grow out of sand and that she was wasting her time, and all that water.

The woman further discovered that if a barrier of trees would be planted on the side facing Iraq this would result in the temperature in this area of Kuwait being some three or four degrees lower.

This is only one of the many experiments that are being conducted to reach sustainability in view of the rising heat so many people, we included, are facing.

There have been many experiments carried out which prove that desertification can be reversed and deserts can become green and flourishing once again. Israel, for instance, has been a leader in such experiments and one must also not forget the manmade river experiment in Libya though I think it has been discontinued after the revolution.

We hear many times that so many millions face starvation but the truth is the world even now has enough resources to feed everyone if only it was distributed equally. In other words the problem facing the world is one of distribution.

We can also see this among the unfortunate consequences of the war as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. This country with its vast countryside can feed entire populations of the world but this is impossible at present considering the blockade of the ports on the Black Sea, the ravages of the countryside and the need to demine entire zones.

Again, from what I can see, the countryside in this country in the pre-invasion times could do with some improvements to maximise output and production.

We must learn to become less set and rigid in our judgements and conclusions and be more open to the possibility that things may be changed if we accept the conclusions of experimentation and change our set ways.

If we look around us we can see innumerable changes that have been made in our way of life which were previously thought impossible or far-fetched. But once we removed the bandage covering our eyes we saw we could have a very different result.

Throughout our week we hear or read that “this” or “that” can’t be done and we go ahead without experimenting or giving it a try. Only if we try it we may instead find out that what we used to think impossible was actually possible.

People are also becoming concerned about rising prices all over the world, ostensibly because of the war but actually because producer after producer saw which direction the wind was blowing and pegged their prices accordingly.

But if the customers and consumers were to stop for a minute to consider they would most probably find alternatives or different ways of going about things. It is true that there are thousands below poverty level and the government and civil society each in their own sphere must do something about it but otherwise there are countless alternatives that can be tried.

The unfortunate events in the Ukraine keep showing the enormous inventivity of people especially when they are faced with huge difficulties.